The present invention relates as indicated to a wick insertion device for a plant pot, and relates more particularly to a device which is adapted to carry a wick and which can be locked in position in an opening formed in a bottom wall of the pot. The wick is water-transmitting by capillary action from a water supply in which the wick is immersed to growing media in the plant pot.
In application Ser. No. 281,622, filed Feb. 9, 1988, of Reinhold Holtkamp, Sr., which is incorporated herein by reference, a watering container is disclosed specifically adapted to receive and provide adequate moisture for miniaturized plants, for example African violets. The container is constructed and arranged such that the miniature pot is received centrally in the upper section of the container, with the lower section defining a reservoir for a source of water supply. The term "water" in the context of the present invention will be understood as comprising water, water to which fertilizer or nutrients have been added, or any other liquid which is beneficial to plant growth and which can be transported by capillary action.
Since the container described in Ser. No. 281,622 is always positioned above the upper level of the water in the reservoir, at least one wick is provided the lower end of which is immersed in the water and the upper end of which extends through an opening in the plant pot and into the growing media. In this manner, water is transported by capillary action from the reservoir to the medium, with African violet plants in particular benefiting from bottom watering of this type.
Although the plant watering container described in Ser. No. 281,622 has had widespread commercial acceptance, the insertion and retention of the wick in the growing medium was a continuing problem. As a result, a wick insertion device described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,159, of Reinhold Holtkamp Sr. was developed, and is herein incorporated by reference. The patented wick insertion device comprises a generally flat base, the inside surface of which engages the bottom surface of the bottom wall of the pot, and a stem extending upwardly from the base and through an opening in the bottom wall of the pot. A plurality of reinforcing ribs extend radially from the stem, and the stem is formed at the top thereof with a transverse groove to frictionally receive the wick near its upper end for retaining the same in the growing medium. A radial slot is formed in the base for receiving the intermediate part of the wick, with projections being formed in the slot defining a gap through which the wick can be inserted so as to maintain the intermediate portion of the wick near the stem. The lower end of the wick is immersed in the water supply.
Although the wick insertion device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,159 has also enjoyed widespread acceptance and use, the design does have certain disadvantages. It is preferably of molded plastic material and the wick-receiving features of the device are proportioned corresponding to the size of the device. Thus, in the smallest devices, the upper groove formed in the stem is necessarily quite small which in turn limits the size of wick which can be frictionally contained in the grove. In addition, the ribs must be made with some concern for tolerance since the device is frictionally retained in place due to the frictional engagement of the ribs with the walls of the opening in the bottom wall of the plant pot. This necessarily means that for a given opening in the bottom wall of the pot, a corresponding insertion device must be used. The drainage holes normally provided in the bottom wall of the pot frequently do not correspond to the size of the device, thereby requiring that supplemental holes be drilled or otherwise formed in the pot to receive the insertion device.
Alternatively, in order to accommodate a range of opening sizes in the pot bottom wall, different size wick insertion devices can be provided. However, this not only increases production costs per unit but requires that an inventory of different size insertion devices be maintained. From a marketing or assembling standpoint, this is a decided inconvenience and added cost without compensating value. Moreover, where a greater range of sizes is provided, a decision must be made as to the relative sizes of the upper groove formed in the stem, and the radial slot formed in the base of the device. Normally, a larger device would be formed with a larger slot and groove although this correlation does not always provide the best and most efficient water supply to the plant. If different size grooves and slots were formed in the same size device, this would even further add to manufacturing costs and inventory problems.